Chicken feeder



Dec. 19, 1950 L s 2,534,608

CHICKEN FEEDER Filed Aug. 6, 1947 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 19, 1950 A;LASATER CHICKEN FEEDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 6, 1947 fl fiizasahrPatented Dec. 19, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT was OFFICE 1 Claim.

This invention relates to devices for feeding poultry, the primaryobject of the invention being to provide a device of this character inwhich the feed is always protected from rodents, small birds, and theelements and yet is always visible and easily accessible to the poultry,thereby eliminating waste to a minimum.

With the foregoing and other objects in View which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel details ofconstruction and combinations of parts, hereinafter more fully describedand pointed out in the claim, it being understood that changes may bemade in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing fromthe spirit of the invention as claimed.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure 1 is a front elev-ational view of a chicken-feeding deviceconstructed in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan view, the dotted line showing the lid to the feedhopper as it appears when open.

Figure 3 a side elevational view.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on line l4 of Figure 2, the dottedline indicating the position assumed by a treadle and screened gate whenoperated by poultry.

Referring to the drawing in detail, the in vention embodies spacedparallel base members 5, to which the floor board 6 and vertical sidewalls l of a feed hopper are secured.

Secured to the floor board 6 and the side walls '5 is the vertical rearwall 8 of the hopper. The lid 9 of the hopper is pivotally mounted bymeans of a screw it or the like to the upper edge of one of the sidewalls l, the lid swinging horizontally to an open position as shown bythe dotted lines in Figure 2, in order that feed may be convenientlyplaced in the hopper.

Completing the top of the hopper is a longitudinal member ll mounted onand extending between the side walls l, the rear edge of the member Mand the front edge of the lid 9 abutting when the lid is closed. Thevertical front Wall ii! of the hopper extends downwardly from the frontedge of the longitudinal member ii, in parallel relation to the rearwall 8, there being locks 83 mounted on the interior sides of the sidewalls '5, to which the side edges of the front wall 52 are secured. Thefront wall l2 does not extend to the floor board 6, there being an opening left between the floor board and the lower edge of the front Wall sothat poultry may have access to the feed while still not havingsuificient room for entering the hopper.

Mounted on the longitudinal member H and overlapping the abutting edgesof the lid 9 and longitudinal member ii is a strip M which pre- Ventsrain from seeping into the hopper. Further, the top of the hopper ispitched, as is clearly shown by Figure 3 of the drawing, providing awater shed.

A housing for vertical pulley and spring means embodied in the inventionis provided, having vertically elongated side walls it formed integrallywith the side walls 7 of the hopper, a vertical rear wall It, ahorizontal top member ll and a vertical front wall it which extendsdownwardly to a point approximately intermediate the top member H andthe floor board 5. Near the lower edge of the front wall it, there isattached to the front wall a drip strip is which serves as a raindeflector.

Extending between the side walls 'a' of the hopper across the front ofthe hopper adjacent to the floor board 6 is a lower frame member 28 forthe slidable gate, which will be described here inafter. Side framemembers 2! and 22 complete the gate frame, the front wall it; of thepulley housing serving as an upper frame member.

Interiorly positioned in the opening to the hopper formed by the gateframe is a vertically slidable screened gate 23. Cords 2% have theirends secured to the top of the gate 23 near the sides thereof and passover pulleys 25 mounted in the housing side walls 55, the cords havingtheir other ends secured to arms 26 of the treadle 2i, the arms 25having their rear ends pivotally connected to vertical supports 28secured to the rear ends of the gate members 5.

There are also secured to the arms 26 the lower ends of the spiralcontractile springs 29, which have their upper ends secured to the sidewalls Id of the pulley housing, adjacent the top thereof.

In use, the device is operated by chickens or other poultry steppingupon the treadle 2?, whereby the arms 26 of the treadle are pivotallymoved downwardly, with the result that the cord and pulley connectionsbetween the arms 26 and the gate 23 cause the gate to be raised, thuspermitting access by the chickens to the feed. As the chickens step offthe treadle, the spring 29 causes the arms 25 to return to their formerposition, thus closing the gate immediately. It will be noted,therefore, that there is no possibility of small birds, or rodents,obtaining access to the feed.

What is claimed is:

A poultry-actuated feeder construction comprising a pair of spacedparallel horizontal base members; a box-like hopper mounted upon saidbase members and elevated by the base member above a supporting surface,the front wall of said hopper having a gate opening, there being anelongated opening formed in the top surface of said hopper and extendinglongitudinally of the hopper immediately adjacent said front wall;supports secured to and extending upwardly from the rear ends of thebase members; treadle arms pivotally connected at their rear ends to therespective supports and extending forwardly past and at opposite sidesof the hopper; a treadle secured to and extending between the front endsof the arms immediately in front of said first-named opening; a gatehousing secured to the top portion of the hopper and covering saidsecond-named opening and communicating with the interior of the hopperthrough said second-named opening, said gate housing being disposedwholly above the top surface of the hopper; a gate slidable upwardly anddownwardly within said gate housing and proportioned to cover thefirst-named opening; rope and pulley connections between the respectivetreadle arms and said gate, operatively connecting the gate to thetreadle for elevation of the gate responsive to depression of saidtreadle; and spring means connected to the upper portion of the gatehousing at opposite sides thereof and connected to the respective armsand normally holding said arms and treadle elevated, the treadle beingdepressible into the space between said base members.

NEWTON A. LASATER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the ille ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 555,839 Williams Mar. 3, 18961,054,463 Smith Feb. 25, 1913 1,080,436 Graham Dec. 2, 1913 1,177,585Wichmann Mar. 28, 1916 1,703,805 Witham Feb. 26, 1929 1,886,593Rupprecht Nov. 8, 1932 2,108,102 Busch Feb. 15, 1938 2,357,698 StaffordSept. 5, 1944 2,386,010 Spivey Oct. 2, 1945

